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For other uses, see Herne.

Herne
View to the center of Herne
Coat of arms	Location
Administration
Country	Germany
State	North Rhine-Westphalia
Admin. region	Arnsberg
District	Urban district
City subdivisions	4 districts
Mayor	Horst Schiereck (SPD)
Basic statistics
Area	51.41 km² (19.8 sq mi)
Elevation	65 m  (213 ft)
Population	169,991  (31/12/2006)[1]
- Density	3,307 /km² (8,564 /sq mi)
Other information
Time zone	CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Licence plate	HER
Postal codes	44601-44653
Area codes	02323, 02325
Website	herne.de Coordinates: 51°33′″N 07°13′″E / Expression error: Unexpected / operator, Expression error: Unexpected / operator

Herne (IPA: [ˈhɛʁnə]) is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in the Ruhr area directly between the cities of Bochum and Gelsenkirchen.

Like most other cities in the region Herne was a tiny village until the 19th century. When the mining of coal and the production of steel emerged, the villages of the Ruhr area became cities.

The present Herne includes the former settlements of Herne, Wanne and Eickel. The farms bearing these names were founded in the 11th and 12th centuries. In 1860 the first coal mine started operation. In the following thirty years the population increased twenty-fold. For the first time Herne was called a city. The same development occurred in Wanne and Eickel, which merged in 1926 to form the new city of Wanne-Eickel. In 1975 Wanne-Eickel, meanwhile as well a city with over 70,000 inhabitants, was incorporated into Herne.

Herne was targetd by RAF in 4.Jun 1940 with 3 explosive bombs, 1 house damaged Web Source of German Reports

There is a fair called Cranger Kirmes in the district Crange held every August. It is the third largest fair in Germany with an average number of visitors of 3,500,000. Its origins can be traced back to the 15th century, when farmers started trading in horses on Saint Lawrence’s Day. That is why the offical opening always takes place at the first friday in August. The tradition of the horse market is kept up, by arranging a horse show and horse equipment sales at the same place where horses were traded years ago. Today there are about 500 booth every year covering 111,000 sqm, meaning that it takes a 5km walk to cover the fairground. Among other things you can buy almonds and all kinds of other food, visit beer gardens, win prizes in shooting galleries or tombolas or ride traditional and new fun-rides like for instance roundabouts, ghost trains and all sorts of high-tech delights. One of the main attractions is probably the 50m high big wheel, that is the largest portable one worldwide.

Famous Hernians or Wanne-Eickelians include Jürgen von Manger, Kurt Edelhagen, Jürgen Marcus, Heinz Rühmann, Tana Schanzara and Jan Zweyer.

• Hénin-Beaumont, France, since 1954
• Wakefield, England, United Kingdom, since 1956
• Ometepe Island, Nicaragua, since 1988
• Belgorod, Russia, since 1990
• Lutherstadt Eisleben, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany, since 1990
• Konin, Poland, since 1991
• Jalal-Abad, Kyrgyzstan, since 2005
• Takamaka, Seychelles, since 2006
• Dédougou, Burkina Faso, since 2007
• Quelicai, East Timor, since 2007
• Príncipe, São Tomé and Príncipe, since 2007

• Official site (German)

v • d • e    Urban and rural districts in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany
Urban districts	Aachen · Bielefeld · Bochum · Bonn · Bottrop · Dortmund · Duisburg · Düsseldorf · Essen · Gelsenkirchen · Hagen · Hamm · Herne · Köln (Cologne) · Krefeld · Leverkusen · Mönchengladbach · Mülheim · Münster · Oberhausen · Remscheid · Solingen · Wuppertal
Rural Districts	Aachen · Borken · Coesfeld · Düren · Ennepe-Ruhr · Euskirchen · Gütersloh · Heinsberg · Herford · Hochsauerland · Höxter · Kleve (Cleves) · Lippe · Märkischer Kreis · Mettmann · Minden-Lübbecke · Oberbergischer Kreis · Olpe · Paderborn · Recklinghausen · Rheinisch-Bergischer Kreis · Rhein-Erft-Kreis · Rhein-Kreis Neuss · Rhein-Sieg-Kreis · Siegen-Wittgenstein · Soest · Steinfurt · Unna · Viersen · Warendorf · Wesel